Workshopping in the Digital Age: A Podcast

Troy Hicks and I talked with Language Arts about the impact of digital tools on our workshops. It is always great to talk to and learn from Troy. You can find the podcast here.

Celebrate This Year: Things I Loved in 2014

Visit Ruth Ayers Writes for the the link up for Celebrate This Week!

So, 2014 was not my favorite year.  Lots of things that weren't so happy.  But I decided to make myself think about the things about 2014 that were happy. Things that came into my life in 2014 that brought some fun or joy.  Thought I'd share.  Consider this like Oprah's Favorite Things list--these are some of my favorite new things from 2014.

How did I live in this world without theSkimm?  Yes, I read headline news and I try to keep up on the basics of what is happening in the world. But theSkimm made that so much more fun. The girls who write theSkimm are smart and very funny, in a clever way.  I now read theSkimm every morning before work. A great way to know what is up in the world and to smile a little while doing so. They explain things in a way that catch readers up on issues. Amazing how much more I feel like I know about what is going on in the world since I've been reading theSkimm.

I forget which month I started Stitchfix but what a happy thing it is!  I am not one of their best shoppers as I only usually keep one or two items from a fix. But what a fun treat. Such fun and easy shopping!  Every month, it is like getting a present in the mail and it has been a good way for me to try new styles and prints.

And thank goodness I discovered Glennon and her amazing book, Carry On, Warrior. I won't go into details on how, but this book found me when I needed it.  I listened to the audio which seemed to be like an extra treat.  And the book led me to Glennon's blog and to her Ted Talk and to one of my favorite posts of all time, Courage Today. Glennon (I like to call her my new BFF) got me through lots this fall without her even realizing it.  Definitely one of my best discoveries of 2014.

I put my friend Stella on a mission to be in charge of the Franki Beautification Program. At 50, it takes a lot of work and I feel that I am falling apart slowly.  Stella is a good friend so she agreed to help me out.  So, for my first step in the Beautification Program, Stella suggested a fabulous lotion from Lancome--expensive, yes, but worth every penny for how happy it makes me every time I use it.

I loved attending Nerdcamp for the 2nd time. And I loved that there was a Nerdrun. But my most favorite thing was being part of Team Saunter/Team Shortcut!  Can't wait to "run" with this team again in 2015!

I am a person who loses things all the time. Since I always do more than one thing at a time, I put things down without remembering where. Needless to say, I often lose my keys and I often lose them in my purse or in the bottom of some bag filled with books. But this year, I ordered one of Candis's amazing keychains from The Jones Market. This wristlet keychain is meant for busy moms who are lugging around babies and diaper bags and things. But even though I do not have a baby, I am always lugging around books and bags and things. And I often throw my keys in the bottom of whichever purse, bag or pocket is most handy. With this keychain, I can wear the key on my wrist until I can take a minute to THINK about putting the keys away. So when I am in Target, going from my car to school, etc. I keep keys right there until I can put them where I can remember where to find them. This little keychain has saved me hours of digging through bags wondering where I tossed my keys. And isn't it also adorable?  (Looks like they are totally sold out on the site--not surprising--but I imagine she'll restock soon. Follow The Jones Market on Instagram if you want to get advance notice of restock days!)

Voxer is another  new favorite. I always love ways to keep up with my friends but with Voxer I can actually hear the voices of friends who I don't get to see face-to-face on a regular basis. But I can have great conversations every day.  What a great app:-)

I met lots of great new people this year and was able to spend lots of time with some new favorite people.  Isn't it great when you meet new people who you love instantly?  I feel so lucky to be in this amazing circle of literacy educators and it is always amazing to meet people that share beliefs about kids.  This year, I got to learn, hang out with, and laugh with Katharine Hale, Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris. They are not the only amazing people I got to know better this year, but they are 3 that made a difference in my year.  And they make me laugh!

I am a huge Kate Middleton fan.  The Duchess is the best!  And I so loved her eye roll when being told to Keep Wrapping.

I'd highly recommend adding all of these things to your life in 2015!

Poetry Friday -- To Stand and Stare

Leisure
by William Henry Davies


What is this life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

If measured in "time to stand and stare," then William C. Morris has a very rich life. One night earlier this week, Mr. Mary Lee noticed him staring out the bedroom window into the dark. Following the cat's gaze, the man focused on...a barred owl sitting on the wires that run through the easement behind the house!

Just imagine all we would see if we took time to really look.

It's a little early to declare my One Little Word for 2015, and I haven't spent hours or made lists deliberating on the pros and cons of this word vs. that word. I just decided. Just now. BREATHE has been a great word for 2014, and I'm sure I'll go back to it over and over again, but in 2015, I'd like to 

NOTICE

I want to slow down. I want to notice. I want to savor small moments.

Be sure to wish Holly a Happy Birthday today -- she's spending her special day with us rounding up the Poetry Friday links at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

I have the new list of roundup hosts in the sidebar here at A Year of Reading. The file with the code has been uploaded on the Kidlitosphere Yahoo group, and you can always find the current (and past) roundups on the Kidlitosphere Central website. If you want me to send you the code for your very own sidebar, just send an email (new address: marylee dot hahn at gmail dot com).

Two Gifts

by Hugh MacLeod at Gapingvoid.com

Enjoy the blessings of the day!

Wednesday

Wednesday

by Anne Bertier
translated from the French by Claudia Z. Bedrick

first American edition: Enchanted Lion Books, 2014

Brain Pickings' Best Children's Books of 2014 strikes yet again!

I am adding this book to my collection of "books to read at the beginning of the school year." It will also be good for discussions of theme.

Little Round and Big Square begin the book playing nicely together, even though they are different. In their favorite game, one says a word and they both transform into that thing. By splitting in half and flipping their halves, both are able to become butterflies, for instance.

Soon, Big Square is suggesting shapes that Little Round cannot make. Both retreat to their corners.

Until Little Round suggests that they work together. Then the fun really begins.

Once Upon an Alphabet

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters
by Oliver Jeffers
Philomel Books, 2014

Brain Pickings' Best Children's Books of 2014 strikes again. An ABC book like no other. Had to own it.

We are going to be studying narrative after the winter break, and I'm thinking that these very very short stories for each of the letter of the alphabet might make marvelous mentor texts. Character, setting, problem, solution...all in under 100 words!

Whether or not we could create our own alphabet that, like Jeffers', has stories that stand alone AND cross-reference each other might be a bit tricky.

Who am I kidding? Make that more than a bit tricky!

Maira Kalman's Ah-Ha to Zig-Zag

Ah-Ha to Zig-Zag: 31 Objects from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

by Maira Kalman

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, 2014

My weekly email from Brain Pickings contained a very expensive Best Children's Books of 2014 list a couple of weeks ago.

I'm a sucker for ABC books, and I'm a sucker for Maira Kalman's whimsical illustrations, and I'm a sucker for multi-genre nonfiction. What could I do? I had to buy this book.

Published by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, it is exactly what it says it is: "31 objects from the Cooper Hewitt..." Furthermore, we learn, "Maira Kalman went to the museum. She chose objects from the collection and made this book for you."

Don't expect a literal, one-to-one ABC. That's not Kalman's style. For instance, the dog on the cover is featured on the spread for E: "E. (Except for your dog) This is the cutest dog on Earth. With the cutest Eyebrows on Earth."

After Z comes O, for "Oops!" A letter was left out, but "Oh, well. We all make mistakes." After that, there are photographs of the actual objects with a bit of information about each (have fun counting and figuring out why there are more than 31 photographs), the story of how Nellie and Sally Hewitt came to collect these objects and create a museum, AND an invitation to readers to pay attention to the design of the objects in the world around them and then write to the museum with their suggestions for objects that might be included in a museum.

So. Much. Fun.

Poetry Friday -- Barter

BARTER

by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Buffy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Buffy's Blog.

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye

The Turtle of Oman
by Naomi Shihab Nye
illustrated (with small sketches at the beginning of every chapter) by Betsy Peterschmidt
Greenwillow Books, 2014
review copy from the public library (but I'll be purchasing this one for my classroom library)

This book is not a novel in verse, but it is written so poetically that sometimes it feels like a poem.

This book is a love song to HOME. 

Young Aref is leaving Oman to live in Michigan for 3 years while his parents go to graduate school there. The story tells about his last week in Oman, spent procrastinating and delaying the packing of his suitcase, while savoring everything he loves the best in and near the city of Muscat in Oman with his wonderful grandfather Sidi. Together, they go to the nearby sea and spend some time on the beach. They go to a camp out in the desert and spend the night. They ride out with a fisherman into the sea. Aref spends the night at Sidi's house and they sleep out under the stars on the flat roof of Sidi's house. 

When they are at the Camp of a Thousand Stars, they meet a man with a falcon who flies away from his handler, but comes back every time to sit on his arm. When they go to the beach, they visit the place where the sea turtles come back every year to lay their  eggs. Out on the boat, Aref catches a fish, but lets it go back to its home in the sea. And slowly, throughout the course of the week, Aref can begin to imagine leaving Oman, because he knows that he, too, will return.

By showing us Oman through the eyes of a child whose heart is breaking to leave it, Naomi Shihab Nye gives the reader an intimate look at a place that, though very different from anywhere in North America, will invite the reader appreciate both Oman, as well as all the people and particular places that make HOME special to him/her.

 

Ranger in Time by Kate Messner

Ranger in Time #1: Rescue on the Oregon Trail
by Kate Messner
Scholastic, January 2015
ARC received from the publisher

This is going to be a great series for grades 2-5!

Ranger is a golden retriever who failed search and rescue school because he can't stop chasing squirrels. He also love to dig, and one day, he finds a old first aid kit while he's digging in his back yard. When he slips the strap over his head, he is transported in time to 1850. He uses his search and rescue skills several times along the Oregon Trail to help Sam Abbott and his family.

After the story, Messner has included a very readable 10-page author's note about the time period and her writing process.

Next up in the series, Ranger travels in time to Ancient Rome!